My Favorite Inspiring Quotes

Releasing Emotions

Commentary by Peter Shepherd

“The key is to not resist or rebel against emotions or to try to get around them by devising all sorts of tricks; but to accept them directly, as they are.” ~ Takahisa Kora

After all, they are our response, we own them. They may be instinctual, but we do have choice, we can be mindful and take control, and choose an appropriate emotional response that is not self-defeating.

“Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance.” ~ Deepak Chopra

Acceptance is the key - not splitting off from our own feelings, that doesn't make sense.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ~ Doc Childre

There are rational emotional responses appropriate to the current circumstances, and there are responses dominated by imprinted patterns from the past, powered by the fear that we felt back then... our past decisions, beliefs, conditioning, assumptions, intolerances, over-generalizing, negative thinking, egotism, and so on.

“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.” ~ Audre Lorde

Don't let emotions push you into action or reaction. Just allow them to be and to speak to you. Once they are acknowledged, fully experienced and accepted, their lessons are learned and their energy is released.

“When we realize that we are creating an emotion, and can take responsibility for that, the underlying beliefs come into the open and we can see more easily what is appropriate and what isn't.” ~ Peter Shepherd

People are naturally somewhat afraid of emotions, in that they can be 'carried away' by them, even to lose themselves and their sanity if they are not careful. It is only really by successfully practicing Releasing that one comes to understand that we are truly the master of emotions and not their slave.

The interview concludes: If you don't care about personal growth, that's OK. You might be quite happy and you will stay that way, until something happens that you don't have the resources and wisdom to handle - then you may go downhill. Or you may get old and wonder where your life went, since you had been living in a safe but limiting cocoon. Or you might be pretending you're quite happy, because you don't want to face that actually you are living someone else's life rather than what you want to be doing, and that you spend considerable effort avoiding things you don't want to confront. Or you might consider that painful emotions are just a part of life that is inevitable, and you can continue to live with this suffering. Most people do nothing, and so human nature continues to create all the problems that we see in the world, on a personal, familial and social/political scale. But it is possible to 'find ourselves' through releasing the limitations we impose on ourselves as a result of our upbringing and negative learning experiences. Only such a person can fully and freely love - without judgment - their fellow man. Yes, it gets spiritual again. This is a Christ consciousness we're talking about, and it's what the world needs - without all the false dogma and political manipulation we see with established religions and cults. Continues...